Principles of Biology

Bio 1

Fall 2009

4 units

Instructor

Alison Varty

Email: varty@siskiyous.edu

Office location: Life Science 2

Phone: (530) 938-5249

Prerequisites

Bio 91 and Math 53

Schedule

This course meets from 1:00 - 1:50 pm Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Our laboratory is from 2:00 - 5:00 pm.

Office hours

I will be available any day of the week from noon to 1 pm. If those times do not work for you, please feel free to email me to make other arrangements.

Course description

This course offers an overview of biology and an investigation of biological principles and processes with an emphasis on hypothesis testing and investigative techniques, cellular structure and function, levels of biological organization and diversity, energy acquisition and metabolism, mechanisms and patterns of inheritance, molecular genetics, developmental biology, applications of biotechnology, and the influence of ecological and evolution factors on living organisms.

Course learning goals

• Students will be able to explain the processes, organization, and basic adaptations of life within the context of evolution.
• Students will be able to design experiments, evaluate quantitative and non-quantitative data, draw scientific conclusions, and effectively communicate all of the above.
• Students will be able to illustrate cell structure and function and describe essential cellular processes.
• Student will be able to explain and apply principles of classical genetics, discuss the processes that generate genetic diversity, explain gene regulation, and evaluate molecular genetics tools.
• Students will be able to explain how ecological and evolutionary factors impact populations.
• Students will be able to explain abiotic and biotic factors that shape communities and ecosystems.

Required text

Biology, 8^th edition, Campbell and Reece

Assignments

• Lab reports -15% (Three total, each is worth 5% of your course grade.)
• Lab participation -15% (This grade is based on lab attendance and accurate completion of laboratory questions.)
• Research paper-15%
• General participation- 5% (You will be asked to actively read 1-2 chapters from our textbook each week. You will discuss each chapter with your reading group before we begin our class discussion of the material. I will periodically ask you to turn in your active reading assignment. Support hour time will be factored into this grade as well as lecture attendance and participation.)
• Quizzes-20% (You will take 14 quizzes total. You will not have opportunities to make up quizzes. However, I will drop your lowest quiz score.)
• Exams-30% (Three total, each is worth 10% of your grade. The final exam is cumulative.)

Grade scale

A = 100%-90%, B = 89.4%-80%, C = 79.4%-70%, D = 69.4%-60%, F < 60%

Attendance

I expect you to be present each class period. Your participation grades will be directly impacted by your attendance. I understand that sometimes it is necessary to miss a class. I am happy to meet with you to talk through what you have missed. However, many of the hands-on, and group and discussion-based learning experiences I will try to create in this course cannot be recreated. In most cases, you will not be able to make these activities up. In general, attending class will be crucial to your success in this class.

Withdrawal

I want all students to successfully complete this course. However, if you need to withdraw, note that you are responsible for withdrawing from the class. See the COS student handbook for important dates related to class withdrawal.

Late work policy

Late papers will be accepted with a penalty. I will reduce your grade on the assignment by 10% for every day it is late. However, I will not accept assignments after your classmates have received grades and comments for the same assignment.

Make-up exams

It is your responsibility to review the syllabus and let me know if you cannot make one of our exams within the first two weeks of the semester. I am happy to make other arrangements for you if this is the case. These are the only make-up exams I will give.

Academic integrity

I expect that all assignments you turn in are your own work. If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism (misrepresenting another person’s words or ideas as your own), consult your student handbook or visit me during my office hours to discuss this topic. If I have reason to question the integrity of your work, I will give you a zero on that assignment. If it happens again, you risk failing the course.

Academic support

If you need special accommodations because of a physical or mental disability, I highly encourage you to visit the Learning Services Office (Eddy Hall 1). I will help to provide you with any assistance recommended by the Learning Services Office. Please approach me about this as early in the semester as possible.

Learning environment

I will do everything I can to foster a strong learning environment in our classroom and I expect the same from each student. I am committed to your success in this class; to be successful, you must be too. I will always be on time and prepared for class; I expect the same of you.

I will certainly respect your desire to learn; I ask that you are respectful of other’s desire to learn. To avoid disrupting or harming others please follow these guidelines:

· Turn off and stow your cell phone during class.

· Encourage and support other learners.

· Be aware of how your actions might be impacting others. For example, do not bring common allergens (i.e. peanuts) to class. Some students have chemical sensitivities, be aware of this when choosing personal care products (i.e. perfumes and colognes).

Support hour

This class has a support hour associated with it. You are expected to spend one hour per week with the instructional support staff in the academic success center. I anticipate that you will use this time to get help on your writing assignments.

Schedule

This schedule is my best guess at what the semester will look like for us. It may change slightly as the semester progresses.

Week	Dates	Topic (Mon., Wed., Fri. 1:00 - 1:50 pm)	Lab (Wed 2:00-5:00 pm)
1	Aug. 17,19, 21	-Introduction to Biology and the nature of science (Chap 1) -Chemical context of life (Chap 2)	Scientific method *
2	Aug. 24, 26, 28	-Quiz week 1 (Monday) -Water and life (Chap 3) -Carbon and life (Chap 4)	Intro to microscopes/ Diversity exploratory
3	Aug. 31 Sept. 2, 4	-Quiz week 2 (Monday) -Structure of large biomolecules (Chap 5) -Tour of a cell (Chap 6)	Exploring biomolecules
4	No class Mon. Sept. 9, 11	-Quiz week 3 (Monday) -Scientific method lab reports due Monday -Tour of a cell (Chap 6 continued) -Membranes (Chap 7)	Cell structure and function (including diffusion*)
5	Sept. 14, 16, 18	-Quiz week 4 (Monday) -Introduction to metabolism (Chap 8) -Respiration (Chap 9)	Respiration
6	Sept. 21, 23,25	-Quiz week 5 (Monday) -Photosynthesis (Chap 10) -Exam I Friday	Photosynthesis
7	Sept. 28, 30 Oct. 2	-Cell cycle (Chap 12) -Meiosis (Chap 13)	Mitosis and Meiosis
8	Oct. 5, 7 No class Fri.	-Quiz week 7 (Monday) -Diffusion lab report due Monday -Mendelian genetics (Chap 14) -Chromosomal basis of inheritance (Chap 15)	Genetics problems Statistics laboratory
9	Oct. 12, 14, 16	-Quiz week 8 (Monday) -Molecular basis of inheritance (Chap 16) -Genes to proteins (Chap 17)	DNA biology and technology
10	Oct. 19, 21, 23	-Quiz week 9 (Monday) -Biotechnology (Chap 20) -Exam II Friday	DNA technology continued
11	Oct. 26, 28, 30	-Descent with modification (Chap 22) -Evolution of populations (Chap 23)	Natural selection * *
12	Nov. 2, 4, 6	-Quiz week 11 (Monday) -The origin of species (Chap 24) -History of life on Earth (Chap 25)	Population genetics
13	Nov. 9 No class Wed. Nov. 11	-Quiz week 12 (Monday) -Phylogeny (Chap 26) -Great Clade Race -Phylogeny of passion flower	None
14	Nov. 16, 18, 20	-Quiz week 13 (Monday) Organismal biology	Diversity exploratory
15	Nov. 23, 25 No class Fri.	-Quiz week 14 (Monday) Organismal biology	Diversity exploratory
16	Nov. 30 Dec. 2, 4,	-Quiz week 15 (Monday) -Research paper due Monday -Population ecology (Chap 53) -Community ecology (Chap 54)	Population ecology *
17	Dec. 7, 9, 11	-Quiz week 16 -Ecosystems (Chap 55) -Conservation biology and restoration (Chap 56)	Local ecosystems explored
18	Finals week	-Population ecology lab report due (Monday) -Final exam Monday, December 14 from 1:00 pm to 2:50 pm in LS 1	None

* indicates that you will be responsible for writing a lab report for this laboratory.

** indicates that this laboratory will be the subject of your research project.